


statescraft of scavengers

by slotumn



Series: Bittersweet: Lysithea Week 2020 [5]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Dark Claude von Riegan, Dark Lysithea von Ordelia, F/M, Gen, Goddess Tower (Fire Emblem), Illustrations, Or More Like, Political Marriage, Politics, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Roleswap, pissy sarcastic claude and arrogant dickhead lysithea, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:13:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27997314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slotumn/pseuds/slotumn
Summary: "And when the rest of continent is in shambles—""—we swoop in, take the scraps, and rebuild them inmyvision."---In a world where the Hrym revolt of 1167 succeeded, House Ordelia is in a much different position from the one we know.
Relationships: Lysithea von Ordelia & Claude von Riegan, Lysithea von Ordelia/Claude von Riegan
Series: Bittersweet: Lysithea Week 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2044072
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13
Collections: Lysithea Week 2020, Slotumn Portfolio





	statescraft of scavengers

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU I've been thinking of for a while, which mostly began with a brainworm called "what if Lysithea DID decide to go into politics." Maybe I'll write something longer for it one day, when I have the energy to plot out all the consequences of the premise.
> 
> I commissioned the art at the end from SocNau ([Twitter](https://twitter.com/artsquirrelb/status/1335632252525428736?s=21)), many thanks to to her for the wonderful piece! (The fic takes place pre-TS but I commissioned the art in their post-TS designs because I like those more haha)

Winter evenings in Garreg Mach were cold, and the night of the ball was no exception. 

Lysithea von Ordelia, scion and soon-to-be head of her house, patiently stood at the Goddess Tower, blowing warm breaths onto her hands. 

Waiting for the familiar, barely audible footsteps. 

"You're late."

The white-haired man in front of her had the gall to give a little mocking bow, saying,

"I apologize for the tardiness, my dear countess. Will you be so generous as to accept a humble offering of sweets, as a token of my apology?"

Lysithea scoffed. "Cut the theatrics, Claude. You, of all people, should know better than to waste time."

Claude winced, and glared just long enough for her to catch it. 

"Yeah, yeah, alright, let's cut right to the chase," he said, standing back upright, "on how you plan to shape the future of Fódlan with your unmatched brilliance."

"Starting with our very next move after graduation."

She purposefully didn't use the word "marriage."

Between the two of them, there was no real romance, or even a sense of duty to a holy matrimony, just calculations. Their marriage would be nothing more than a tool, a stepping stone for their political ambitions. 

Lysithea took a hard look at Claude before speaking again. 

"The adopted son of House Daphnel secretly being the legitimate heir to House Riegan...you know, a lot would have changed, if you'd shown up just a little earlier."

Claude raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"House Riegan wouldn't have collapsed, for one," she shrugged, "and I wouldn't have had to see House Gloucester gloating about taking leadership of the Alliance for years."

House Ordelia, being an offshoot to House Gloucester, had a history of being pushed around by the latter; Ordelia wasn't very happy about it, of course, but so long as Gloucester lended military forces they lacked, there was no option but to go along with whatever unfair deals were pushed onto them.

This was only remedied when Hrym— where Lysithea's mother hailed from— defected from the Empire and combined houses with Ordelia thirteen years ago, suddenly turning the weakest house of the Alliance into a force to be reckoned with. 

Of course, this wasn't entirely without its own issues, such as internal power struggles and succession issues, raised by the disgruntled Hrym side of the family, and the fact the Imperial royal family now hated their guts for destabilizing the Empire. 

But those problems were nothing she didn't already have a plan to deal with.

"Well, you're in luck," Claude said. "Once I take the Failnaught and prove my heritage, you'll get to see them seething about having it snatched right back away."

"Indeed."

What did they say— there's no better feeling than seeing your opponents down. 

"Then once my— _our_ succession of the dukedom is complete, using the combined resources of houses Ordelia, Hrym, Daphnel, and Riegan, we pressure the rest of Alliance into centralizing military forces," he continued. "You want to secure enough forces to ward off the Empire and Kingdom, correct?"

"Yes. If the Alliance wishes to remain neutral in this potential upcoming conflict, it's imperative that we are unified and capable of defending ourselves," Lysithea nodded. "Not to mention, the security and stability will appeal to the lords on the borders who may consider defecting and joining us."

"Mhm," Claude leaned against the stone wall of the tower. "And when the rest of continent is in shambles—"

"—we swoop in, take the scraps, and rebuild them in _my_ vision."

Neither of them said anything for a while, listening to the biting winter winds outside. 

"You know, Claude," Lysithea finally began, glancing aside at him without turning her head.

"Yes?"

"I'm still surprised that the things you told me about yourself don't all seem to be complete lies."

About his true identity, about how he was kidnapped and sold from Almyra to Fódlan by his own siblings, about how he ended up with the eery white hair and inhuman prowress on the battlefield.

About the cost he had to pay to gain such power.

Claude snorted. "And I'm surprised a little kid like you can plan all this stuff without feeling the slightest bit of remorse."

This time, it was Lysithea's turn to glare. 

"What can I say, being remorseful has never won me any victories."

"No, I bet not."

Silence. 

The soon-to-be spouses stood several feet apart, making no attempt to close the distance between them as they stared at the night sky.

"What is it like, having two Crests?" Lysithea asked, far too casually. 

"Why, do you want them?" Claude asked right back. "Or rather— do you need them?"

The girl gave a short, amused laugh. 

"I don't _need_ anything aside from my own abilities to accomplish my goals," she said. "There's a reason why I was selected as heir over all my other Crested siblings."

"Yes, yes, you're the pinnacle of human intellect and the undisputed master of Fódlanese power politics, I know."

Lysithea smiled, not looking even the slightest bit embarassed by the sarcastic, purposefully exaggerated praise. 

"Still, knowing such a thing is possible..."

Strands of hair, as dark as the night sky, blew in the breeze. 

"...it makes me wonder what I would have done, had I been in your position."

\---

**Author's Note:**

> Some extra explanations on the stuff in the story:  
> -I use my personal headcanon that Lysithea's mother is from House Hrym, hence why they joined houses with Ordelia after successfully defecting  
> -Claude has Crest of Daphnel and Riegan, the former being implanted into him by Slithers after he was kidnapped and sold into Fódlan  
> -House Riegan collapsed by 1180 because the above meant they couldn't find an heir+Oswald von Riegan died earlier; so Claude ended up in House Daphnel instead, since he does have the Crest  
> -The Hrym revolt succeeding means that the nobles of Adrestia are even uppitier than they are in canon, thinking they can threaten to secede whenever; as a result, the Empire is far more politically unstable
> 
> If you're 18+ and interested in spicier content for these two, check out the [Lysiclaude NSFW Bingo](https://twitter.com/lysiclaudensfw?s=09)!  
>   
> [Join the Lysiclaude Discord!](https://discord.gg/GZmtGbw) (Adults only for ease of moderation, please note.)  
>   
> Feel free to leave prompts/suggestions on my [CuriousCat](https://curiouscat.qa/slotumn)!  
>   
> [My twitter](https://twitter.com/slotumn?s=09)  
> 


End file.
